Ancient Romans had perfect teeth because of a low sugar diet, according to studies that have involved scanning the remains of those killed in the city of Pompeii in AD79. Scientists appointed by the Archaeological Superintendence of Pompeii carried out CAT scans on the preserved remains of people who died after Mt Vesuvius erupted and destroyed much of the ancient city.

Researchers were surprised to see how perfect the teeth were when the results of the scan were shown; it is believed that this is due to low sugar, high fibre diets, and the ancient Romans may have had a better diet than modern man.

Dental expert Elisa Vanacore, director of the site, said that the people of Pompeii ate a lot of fruit and vegetables but did not include much sugar in their diets; she also observed that ‘Studying their teeth could reveal a lot more about their lives.’ This suggests that the Romans ‘ate better than we did’ and this would explain why they have very healthy teeth. As well as perfect dental health, the scans revealed cranial injuries which are likely to have been the cause of death as rubble fell from the sky during the eruption of the volcano.